Energy Transfer pipeline catches fire in La Porte, Texas
Line isolated for residual product to burn off
Over 5,000 CenterPoint Energy customers initially without power
Texas Railroad Commission investigating the incident
Adds statement from City of Pasadena on reported injury in paragraph 7
Sept 16 (Reuters) -A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline owned by Energy Transfer ET.N caught fire in La Porte, Texas, on Monday morning, the company said in a statement, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses and prompting a widespread evacuation.
Videos posted by a local news station early in the day showed a massive flame near streets and businesses. The line had been isolated by midday for residual product to burn off, Energy Transfer said, adding that it did not have a timeline for how long that process would take.
First responders by mid-afternoon estimated it would take a few more hours to extinguish the fire, city officials said. The evacuation area, which at one point had been a half-mile radius, by then was reduced and included 941 addresses, they added.
The fire occurred at a valve station on a 20-inch (50.8-cm) pipeline used to carry NGLs, according to Energy Transfer. NGLs can be used as inputs for petrochemical plants or burned for space heating and cooking, among other uses.
The company also said it was aware of reports that an unknown passenger car entered its right-of-way and struck the valve location.
The City of La Porte said the cause was undetermined and under investigation.
A volunteer firefighter experienced heat stress and was treated at the scene, the nearby City of Pasadena said in a statement. Otherwise, no injuries were reported.
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC), which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, said it was investigating the fire.
It said the incident occurred in a pipeline corridor, and that other pipeline operators in the area had been notified of the incident and were set to ensure the safety of their systems.
Over 5,000 CenterPoint Energy CNP.N customers were without power shortly after the incident, according to a posting on the company's website. That number fell to around 1,600 by midday.
"When it is safe to do so, our electric crews will go into the area to assess the damage to our transmission and distribution power lines, poles and equipment and begin restoring service to impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible," the company said.
A nearby Walmart WMT.N store was evacuated and closed following the incident. Students attending schools near the scene of the fire were safe and sheltering in place, the La Porte Independent School District said.
Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver, Laila Kearney in New York, and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy
Berita Terkini
Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
